Naxos is celebrating its 25th anniversary with, among other things, a book chronicling the company’s official history. One of the most interesting parts of this story is the bit about the origin of the company’s name:

I wanted to buy a condominium. In Hong Kong some people purchase a condominium through a shelf company for tax advantages. I called my lawyer and said, ‘Look, I want to buy a shelf company, what can you offer?’ And I guess they have people who come up with ideas for these companies, and register them, and some guy had gone through all the Greek islands. So my lawyer offered me Crete Ltd, Rhodes Ltd, Lesbos Ltd and I said, ‘No, thank you’. But I liked Naxos Ltd, partly because of Ariadne auf Naxos, Richard Strauss’s opera. So I bought Naxos Ltd and Naxos Ltd bought the apartment. That was in 1985. Then in 1987, there I was, stuck with those masters and looking for a label name, and I said, ‘Well, I own Naxos Ltd, let’s call it Naxos.’